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New Mec-Gar mag feeding issues

4K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  SGW Gunsmith 
#1 ·
I will apologize right off if im doing anything wrong here. I have never participated in forums before but have been reading them for information for years.
So here is my problem. I have a mark 3 hunter which functions great with my ruger mags however i only had my original 2 mags. After reading reviews and forums about Gen-Mar magazines only needing polishing the button and its slide area i decided to buy 4 of them for $69. Well my first range trip none of the 4 worked well in my mark 3. They all have the same problem. When the slide goes forward on the first round the bolt pushes the rount up at an angle where it jams against the feed ramp at an angle, so i cant feed a round into my mark 3 with any of the 4 mags. I cant see any difference besides the small button between the Mec-Gar and ruger mags except the slightly skinnier follower. After lots of time researching my magazine issue last night i find a tip on rounding out the front of the rear 2 feed lips i believe they are called? This is suposed to help with stove pipes from what i read but im wondering if it would help with letting the rim of the round rise a little sooner so it does not jam the round against the feed ramp. My only worry is if i try doing some of this diy mag tuning i can cause more problems which is why im asking your advice. I have lots of other Mec-Gar mags and love them so im not hater of the brand and at half price they are worth a little tuning to me. Thanks for any help
 
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#2 ·
First off...........:Welcome: to RFC and the Ruger Mark III forum. A couple of things you might consider trying. First:

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=507693

If the first round fed from a fresh magazine is smacking into the feed ramp, that round is leaving the magazine too low. Try tipping the nose of the first round leaving the magazine as in the right picture to see if that works better for you.

If the rounds are sitting low, like the left picture, that first round is aiming right at the feed ramp.

 
#3 ·
Thankyou for the welcome and the link to tune the mags. I did all the polishing on all 4 of my mags. Now 3 of them will fire copper plated rounds but not lead. I figured out that on all 4 mags the first round stick past the leading edge of the mag about 1.5mm. The top round sticks past the edge unlike my factory mags. I believe this increases the feed angle so that the bullet will leave the mag then get pushed by the bolt so the bullet in the round will cram into the barrel then the brass case gets bent and jams the gun with a crushed case but tip of bullet in the barrel. I can only imaging its caused by the rear feed lip angle on the mags. Im not sure why it feeds slightly better with copper jacket rounds, maybe its the harder surfaces of the bullet deflects off the feed ramp easier and dosnt get hung up. I did also get a couple double feeds with one of the 4 mags. Maybe that was a fluke. Other than that im so happy with my mark 3 since i have zero issues like some say they have with the theirs out of the box as long as i use my ruger mags. So do you have any idea how to fix the issue with the rounds sticking out past the edge of the mag unlike the factory mags? Thats again. Im really thinking of becoming a contributing member of this forum. My only issue is i cant seem to type in a search for related posts. Maybe thats for contributing or paying members only?
 
#5 ·
LS8875
I have 10 Mk III Ruger magazines and 2 Mk III Mec Gar magazines. Using SGW magazine tuning tutorial, all have been refined. I experience the same problems as you describe even after the tuning operation. One of the 2 Mec Gar magazines will not latch into one of my Mk III grip frames. I ceased using these magazines. Also, my experience with Meg Gar magazines for a CZ 75B has been flawless.
 
#6 ·
Welcome to our site LS!! Based on the fact that the Ruger mags are available reasonably priced, I prefer to take them and tune them.

As previously stated, SGW has a write up on how to tune them up. Good info.

After they are initially set up, they are very trouble free, only requiring cleaning when they get sticky or gunked up.

There is a wealth of knowledge available on these pistols. May I suggest you read up on them. It will help your overall ownership experience.

Good luck and enjoy

Rich
 
#7 ·
I have had the same unfortunate experience with Mec-Gary mags with my Mark lll comp model. I have three and none of them will feed properly even after doing the tune fiddle. I have almost given up on them. My oem Ruger mags and two I purchased from Ruger store work very well. I can't understand why Mec-Gar labeled ones don't work worth a darn.

I just need to note that Meg-Gar mags for my Luger 9mm P.08s work exceptionally well. Nothing but praise for those.
 
#8 ·
I can't understand why Mec-Gar labeled ones don't work worth a darn.
The problem is that they're similar but not the same. With some ammo they do work just fine but IIRC longer OAL rds with blunter bullet tips wouldn't feed. The body is a little different dimensionally aside from all the other parts being slightly different. A friend of mine who was going to NSSF Rimfire matches with me bought six of the Mec Gars. His two Ruger mags ran fine, the Mec Gars wouldn't. All got the same usual prep. We did everything we could think of including swapping Ruger guts into a Mec Gar body. Still didn't work. We finally cut one (a Mec Gar) up and it's the mag body being just enough different to cause some ammo to hang up.
 
#10 ·
Two options:
1. You said you did the "tune" but how smooth was the mag movement afterwards. I found the Mec gar mags too almost twice the work as a ruger mag to get them to an acceptable smoothness of action to make me happy. (Jam free). I'll attach my comparison post from another thread at the bottom.

2. I ended up making my feed ramp longer to allow 100% feeding regardless of bullet orientation in the mag. It's a sticky in the 22/45 section "2 lesser seen mods in copper".

Comparison on the mec gar vs ruger mags.
Ordered one of the generics myself out of curiosity. Fully loaded the magazine would not hold the top rounds in place due to binding. The top one or two rounds would fall out if I turned the mag upside down.
Disassembly revealed the following: I found the magazine body to be on par with the factory mag in terms of finish (aka needed sanding and polishing of the track).
The "magazine block retaining plunger" finish was very rough. Significantly more so than a factory mag. The machining marks were never removed and requires significant sanding to remove, where with the factory mags a simple polish will do. Between sanding and polishing the track, track button grove and the plunger, it is functionally no different than any of my "tuned" ruger mags.
The real question is, is paying half price for a mag worth the extra 30 min to an hour of sanding to get it to an acceptable state?
Sorry no side by side comparison pics before I started with the sandpaper and polishing. I wasn't thinking much about documentation at the time.
 
#11 ·
This post is by no means intended to be critical of the post just above it. But, it does bring to MY mind, many of the foibles involved with the inter-web........visual qualification.

There are some who frequently post information, both good and bad, yet they NEVER provide any dimensions, pictures, or verification to show, for the information they want us all to believe. I don't sit on that side of the "gallery". I want to learn things also, same as all who gawk at their computer screens. Heaven knows there is quite a bit of "bovine excrement" spread throughout the inter-web and some ( a lot ) of it even makes its way here, to RFC.

So, I'll continue to provide some of the stuff that's made me wise ;) , but don't expect any applause from my side of the gallery when only a passel of words are presented with the expectation it should become the 11th commandment. I gots to know, therefore I don't adhere to plain old "hear-say" malarkey.

I've found a lot of things involved with these Ruger Mark pistols before I developed the enlightenment to start taking pictures and measuring parts for posterity, which was required for the articles I was doing at that time. That habit continues, and some around here have even sent me notes with thanks for the help. That's nice but NOT necessary.
 
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